The Week of Prayer Dates for the rest of the year are:

• 25th July
• 12th September
• 14th November

If you have any prayer requests that you would like to include for the DPC Week of Prayer sheet, please let Darryl know on darrylsoh@drummoyne.org.au.

On Sunday 31st Jan 2010. Home Group Leaders & Others meeting was held.  Attached to this post are:some key documents from that meeting, including:

• The detailed agenda for the meeting, including key dates
• The powerpoint presentation at the meeting

For the other documents, please see below.

Click here for the DPC Home Group pamphlet (to be done on the first night of home group)

Click here for an explanation of what a linked person is and how home groups can care for their linked person.

Click here for the notes from Darryl's training elective on "Getting Organised, the First meeting, Working with your Leadership Team".  This includes Darryl's draft planner for his home group this year and other useful docs.

Click here for the notes from Pete's training elective on "Group Dynamics and Different Learning styles".

Click here for the DPC Home Group Job Descriptions.  This includes the job description for:

• a home group leader (or Co-leader)
• an Assistant leader
• a home group host

DPC Home Groups have Leaders, Assistant Leaders and Hosts. Leaders, Assistant Leaders & Hosts are appointed by the elders. In 2010 Darryl Soh will oversee the day to day organising of Home Groups and supporting of HG Leadership, Craig Tucker will co-ordinate training days.

The Home Group Leader(s) are responsible to lead the group towards maturity in Christ. The role of the Home Group Leaders includes: leading or delegating the Bible study, helping the group start and finish on time, reminding the group of their purpose and agreed expectations, and generally nurturing the life of the group. However, the success of the group is everyone's responsibility. Assistant Leaders support the Home Group Leader(s) in this task.

Purpose of Home Groups:

1. to study God's word, encourage each other to live out its truth and share its truth with others;

2. to pray together;

3. to care for one another and others outside the group in practical ways;

4. to have fun together.

Yet within this framework each group has the freedom to struc­ture things in a way that suits the group members.

The Commitment of the Leaders, Assistant Leaders & Hosts

1. To watch.  Their own life and doctrine; to be faithful Christians modelling the Christian life with integrity.

2. To belong to the church family. This will involve belonging, in a regular committed way, to one of the Sunday congregations.

3. To pray for their group members regularly.

4. To support each other. There are three HGLO meetings planned for the year where we will pray, encourage one another, and participate in training.  In addition, this year we are holding 4 to 5 "Digging Deeper" Sessions which are special nights to "stretch" people in thinking theologically on a range of relevant issues that Christians face.  It is expected that leaders, assistant leaders and hosts attend at least two of these sessions.

A. The responsibilities of the Home Group Leader

1. Prayerful Preparation. Home Group Leaders are asked to commit to prayer and to adequately prepare for group meetings.

2. Cultivating a Healthy Culture. Home Group Leaders will seek to cultivate a safe place where true feelings can be shared and encourage members to take the next step toward involvement in the life of the church. If there are members in the group that require specialized pastoral care or counselling, Home Group Leaders should contact either Craig, Anna or Darryl.

3. Teach God's Word. Home Group Leaders are responsible for ensuring the Scriptures are taught with care. From time to time, we will study the same material across the DPC church family but the majority of the time, it is the Home Group leader in consultation with his//her leadership team and the group who determines what the group will study.  If you have any questions about what your group is to study, please contact Darryl Soh or Anna Moss with regards to Women's HUB.

4. Plan the logistics. The Home Group Leader is responsible for ensuring the group develop clear expectations and plan adequately.  Click here for the DPC Home Group Pamphlet for more details.

5. Monitor the group's progress with respect to the group's goals and expectations. As part of the Home Group's first night, it is important to agree as a group the goals and expectations of the group.  Throughout the year, it is the responsibility of the Home Group Leader to monitor how the group is progressing with regards to these agreed goals and expectations.  One suggestion is for the home group leader to chair a "take stock" session with the home group.

6. Meet with Assistant Leaders (about every 2 months) for feedback, prayer and encouragement.

B. The role of the Assistant Leader

1. Be an active participant / observer. This involves:

• Helping build a healthy "culture" for the group (eg. a culture that is honest and open, not flippant)
• Watching the group dynamics and focus on how individuals in the group are going. To effectively manage a group of 10-12 people, it requires at least 2 people working together.
• Intervening when necessary (eg. asking a clarification question when it seems like a member of the group is struggling with a particular point of the Bible study)

2. Providing regular feedback to the Home Group Leader. As part of the leadership team, it is important to provide regular feedback to the Home Group Leader and pray together about how the group is going.  This would help ensure that any issues regarding the group are addressed in a timely manner.

3. Lead meetings from time to time. The assistant leader, like any other home group member, may lead the Bible study or Week of Prayer from time to time.  As a guideline, it is recommended that co-leaders to lead the meeting at least 6 times a year so that there is sufficient opportunity for Co-leaders to develop their leadership skills.  However, the frequency of how often the Co-leader leads is determined by agreement with the Home Group Leader and the Co-leader.

4. In consultation with the Home Group Leader, following up specific members of the group. This may include calling them during the week to see how they are going or meeting up with them one on one.

C. The role of the Host

Provide a comfortable environment for the group to meet. Here are some guidelines in hosting a home group.

(i). Be prepared. Make sure that the meeting room is tidy and pleasant. Also, make sure that the bathroom is clean and supplied.

(ii). Greet everyone warmly. People come to a home group with any number of things on their mind. Some come from work. Others rushed out of the house while trying to finish a quick meal. A warm greeting from a host can help people shift into the home group setting.

(iii). Be sure you are well supplied. Check to be sure you have plenty of pencils, paper, Bibles, etc.  Always have an extra chair or two.  Have cups available for drinks and plates if food is being served.

(iv). Check the lighting. Be sure the room where the small group is held is well lit.  Also, meet in a circle where everyone can see each other's faces to facilitate equal participation and sharing.

(v). Be mindful of the temperature. A room that is too cold can make it very difficult for people to get comfortable. A room that is too hot can cause people to fall asleep.  Be mindful that rooms warm up when people show up.

(vi). Eliminate distractions. Put your pets (especially dogs and cats) in a separate room for the evening. Let the answering machine pick up your calls (turn off the ringer).   Providing good ventilation is also helpful.

(vii). Provide dinner (if possible). Some hosts either provide dinner or organise a roster with the group members to provide dinner at the host's residence.  Having time together over a meal prior to the group starting can be beneficial in helping the group "gel together".

Please see the attached pdf document for a printable version of the DPC Home Group Job Descriptions.

The HGLO meeting held on Sunday 5th July had the training topic of how to manage Group Dynamics" which will include tips on how to ensure a healthy group dynamic within your home group.

Below is a summary of the discussion on the day:

Notes from HGLO training 5^th July:  GROUP DYNAMICS

A. Group Life

Positive things you can do to promote a good group dynamic

• testimonies regularly
• socials (programmed 6 weeks)
• socialising (e.g. mid-week tennis, picnics, cleaning someone's gutters)
• coffee-making time is important relational time
• HG leaders to touch base with individuals outside of HG semi-regularly
• Weekend aways as a home group

B. During the Bible study

Positive things that help the group dynamic during the Bible study:

• Thinking ahead and planning, getting different people to lead studies
• Rebound question-answer technique
• Affirms member contributions
• Summarizing answers before asking the next question, making sure everyone understand before moving on, asking frequently "Does anyone have any questions?"
• Getting quiet people to speak early
• Making sure people have the opportunity to think and speak
• Re-phrase questions to prompt group
• Varied prayer (girls/guys, all-in, mixed triplets)
• Be aware of who's speaking and who's not - how are you prompting them?
• Identify possible conflicts/tension between group members
• Leave enough time to pray (and not just talk about praying)
• Ask questions with no right or wrong answers (e.g. What do you think...)

Negative things that hinder the group dynamic during the Bible Study:

• Uncomfortable with silence/pauses
• HG leader answers all the questions

C.  Other pointers to help assess the group dynamic of your home group:

• Working out the following (retrospectively after HG):
  
  • Who spoke?
  • When?
  • How much?
  • What role did each person assume?

• Doing a chart of where people are sitting and plotting arrows to see how discussion went is helpful

• If someone is talking too much in the group, to the point that they are dominating, either:
  
  • Cut them of gently (this is the preferred option as it models to the other people in the group of how to lovingly deal with such people)
  • Talk to them outside the group

• To help generate discussion:
  
  • Break into sub-groups for particular questions
  • Don't jump in as the leader
  • Use the co-leaders and 2ICs to pose questions
  • Bounce back to the group when someone asks a question
  • Go around the group and get everyone to give an answer to a question (eg. What is your opinion on . . . OR to give an example of . . . )

NOTE: direct Questioning can be confrontation so use discretion when directly questioning a HG member.

At DPC we plan to have a week of prayer about every two months. During this week we are asking all of our home groups to stop what they normally do and spend the night in prayer. Even if you aren't in a group maybe you would like to set aside some time when you normally do something else, in order to pray.

1. Pray in light of God's Word.

Reflect briefly on what we have been learning on Sundays from the book of Hebrews or from the Bible Studies in Home Group and use this as a way to pray for each other.  Pray in concrete ways what it means to follow Jesus and in particular, if there are areas in our lives / attitudes that we need to change.

2. Pray for the world around us.

Take time as a group to pray for things happening in our world such as our government, global financial crisis, etc.

3. Pray for yourselves.

Take time as a group to pray for the needs of people in the group, and attached to your group.

4. Pray & Give thanks for things at church.  (Here are some things to start with...)

• Pray for the Winter warm-up street fair this coming weekend. Pray that the fair we will be wise with this great opportunity to connect with our local community. Pray that the weather will be good and all the logistic details would all come together.
• Give thanks for how the JAM Kids Club has started. God has established a core group of kids and has brought a number of non-Christian kids to JAM. Pray that God will bring more non-Christian kids to JAM so that they can hear about Jesus. Pray that God will continue to equip and strengthen the JAM leaders (ie. Jonathan Mak, Kate Malone, Hannah Moore, Matt Smart, Caleb Ioannidis, Robbie Neville and Darryl Soh). Pray for the JAM evangelistic outing on 11^th June that God would use it to bring many kids to himself.
• Pray for the upcoming women's evangelistic event on June 25 - pray for Carmelina Read who is speaking on the topic "Jesus: Fact? Fiction? Or Fairytale". Pray for our women, for boldness and courage to ask friends and family to hear the gospel. Pray for the organisation of the event that all will run smoothly before and on the night.
• Pray for pregnant mums in our church family(eg. Sarah Balogh, Bronwyn Bultman, Heather Denman, Lee-Ann Hansen, Evelyn Tan, Renee Wilson, etc).
• Pray for Deb Chen - that God will continue to use her in Thailand. Give thanks for how God has used her to help the Thai Christians grow in their understanding of God. Pray that God will continue to strengthen Deb in his work for the rest of this year. Check out Deb's blog on http://plaaplaaplaa.blogspot.com/.
• Pray for the dy Youth Group.  Pray that God will continue to grow the Youth group both in numbers and in Christian maturity.  Pray that God will strengthen the dy leaders in their task of discipling the teenagers (ie. Jonathan Graham, Ali Bradshaw, Gabby Lum Mow and Julian Smart).

Please find attached the Week fo Prayer: May sheet.

The Week of Prayer Dates for the rest of 2009 are:

• 26th July
• 20th Sep
• 15th Nov

If you have any prayer requests that you would like to include for the DPC Week of Prayer Sheet, please let Darryl know on darrylsoh@drummoyne.org.au.

The role of assistants is to work with the leader in helping the group do what home groups do.

We want Leaders to take the initative in working with their Assistant Leaders and developing their leadership skills. Normally Assistant Leaders are potential future leaders. In each group this will work itself out in different ways. But would normally involve:

• Reflecting together on how the group is going.
• Praying for each other and with each for the group.
• Preparing Studies together.
• The Leader supporting the Assistant in having a go in leading studies as a training opportunity.

Thursday Hub in 2009: While there is no strict number of studies for assistants to lead, at the Thursday night Hub in 2009 we want our leaders to particularly focus on developing the leadership skills in Assistant Leaders.Each series presents itself as an opportunity for assistants to lead once or twice during it. As we think of the Trinity studies in particular, we're running trainings in the lead up to the Trinity series so that assistants are familiar with the material beforehand. So it would be nice for asssitants to lead at least six times a year.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact Darryl, who co-ordinates Home Groups at Drummoyne.

It was discussed at the last HGLO meeting of a very useful reference regarding the grief that young mothers experience when they go back to work.  The reference for young mothers is a Book by the title of "Missing in Action" by Anne Smollon.  Please check out the following link to Google books for Chapter 2 of this book as it is helpfully applies the MRSFIR that we went through at our April HGLO meeting:  http://books.google.com/books?id=-Hadp7hoGgIC&pg=PP1&dq=missing+in+action+anne#PPA25,M1

Also attached are the handouts from Morris Key seminar in case you missed the HGLO meeting.